


all the lights couldn't drown out the dark (running through my heart)

by hisfirstnamesagent



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Peter Parker, Big Brother Harley Keener, Bisexual Peter Parker, Childhood Trauma, Depression, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gay Disaster Harley Keener, Gay Harley Keener, Gay Panic, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley Keener is Tony Stark's Adopted Child, Harley Keener-centric, Harley has a boyfriend but they break up so don't worry, Human Disaster Peter Parker, Hurt Harley Keener, I Made Myself Cry, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Mutual Pining, Panic Attacks, Pepper Potts Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Trust Issues, just a little, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22427095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisfirstnamesagent/pseuds/hisfirstnamesagent
Summary: "What's wrong with me?" Harley repeated, tears suddenly filling his vision. He was scared and he didn't like the way the doctor was looking at him. His Mama had looked sad like that, and she had cried, and she scared him so much. He cried too. He didn't like remembering that night. Harley sniffled as tears fell down his cheeks slowly. "Where's my Mama?" He demanded.~Harley Keener knew great tragedy from an early age. Years later, he meets Peter Parker, who slowly but surely worms his way into the other boy's heart.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Harley Keener & Original Character(s), Harley Keener & Pepper Potts, Harley Keener & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harley Keener/Original Male Character(s), Harley Keener/Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes & Harley Keener, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	all the lights couldn't drown out the dark (running through my heart)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. It's Zephyre and I am back. 
> 
> I came up with concept months ago and am just only know finished fine-tuning it. I have several chapters outlined and I actually feel really excited about this new project so that makes me really really happy. 
> 
> If you enjoyed Potato Gun Mechanics, I am certain you will enjoy this fic. It has more plot, more Parkner (platonic and romantic), more Harley Kenner being Amazing. Harley's one of my favourite Marvel characters and too often than not he's shoved off to the side or has to share the spotlight with someone else. 
> 
> THERE AREN'T ENOUGH HARLEY KEENER CENTRIC FICS OUT THERE. 
> 
> A warning: Harley is dealing with a lot from the very beginning of the story, and while it doesn't go overboard, it isn't pretty. He suffers with anxiety and depression, and he suffers great loss in the first section of the first chapter. There's death and Harley doesn't cope well, even years after the death occurs. 
> 
> He doesn't take good enough care of himself but every Tony Stark stan knows a thing or two about people who don't take good enough care of themselves. If you think watching Harley make bad choices will stress you out TOO much, you should also take care of yourself and make sure your reading experience is wonderful. 
> 
> Thank you and I hope you enjoy what I have to offer ♥️
> 
> \- zep (they/them pronouns if you're wondering)

Blue eyes blinked slowly open, the smallest of cracks. His body was numb and heavy, his eyes blurred and tired. The mechanical beeps reached his ear a few moments after he gained consciousness. He let out a soft sound, a cry; he couldn't move, and he couldn't see - he was scared. The beeps quickened as his heart rate spiked. His breathing shallowed.

_where am I where am I where am I where am I where am I where am I -_

"Harley?" A smooth, deep voice spoke close to him, cutting through his racing thoughts. Harley flinched, his eyes widening and shutting just as quick, as the bright lights of the room he was in overrode his senses. "Harley, can you hear me?" Maybe it was the calm of the person's voice, but he found himself nodding. He couldn't find his voice, his throat scratchy and hot. "There's no need to panic, son, you're safe. You're in a hospital - you just woke up after napping for a long time, okay?" 

Harley nodded again. He felt tired, but he always felt a little tired just after a nap. Whoever was with him was telling the truth then. 

"Okay, Harley." There was the sound of paper crinkling. "Do you think you can open your eyes?" Harley shook his head. It hurt the last time he opened his eyes, it was too bright. It made him want to cry - like when he fell off his bicycle that one time. "Would you like it if I turned the lights off? So the room won't be too bright?" Harley nodded. There was silence for a while then the soft click of a light switch. "The lights are off, son. You can open your eyes." 

Harley swallowed around the lump in his throat. He felt kind of like the time he had a cold and coughed for so long that he fell over into his mom's side. She'd taken him to the hospital then too. He took a deep breath and cracked his eyes open again, wider than the first time he'd opened them. The room was dark; the first thing that caught his eye was the man standing right in front of him. 

He had a white coat on like the doctors Harley saw on TV or when he got sick enough to need a doctor. He had a long metal thing around his neck too. Harley remembered that it always felt cold against his skin. The man smiled at him. "How are you feeling, Harley?" He asked. 

Harley opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. He frowned and looked away from the man. It was kinda lame that he couldn't even talk. 

The man spoke again, though he didn't sound like the other kids when they made fun of him for being weird. "Would you like some water? You've been asleep for a long time." Harley looked back at him. The doctor moved to a table close to the bed Harley was in. He poured water into a glass and held it out to him. "You haven't used your voice or your throat for a while Harley. It's not odd for it to take some time to get your voice back." 

Harley eyed the glass of water and reached out slowly. That was when he saw his arm. They were bandaged completely, and he couldn't even see his skin. He stared, wide eyed at it, before looking at his other arm. It was bandaged too! Did he get hurt? Was that why he was here? He couldn't remember much of anything. Was his Mama here? 

"Harley?" 

He jolted, the doctor pulling him from his mind again. He looked away from his arms and took the glass. He took a small sip. He never liked water - it didn't taste like anything and Harley loved sweets. The doctor watched him as he drank little drops of the liquid. It wasn't even COLD. Harley hated water, sure, but water that wasn't icy was somehow even more gross in his opinion. 

"Does your throat feel better?" The doctor asked after he drank a quarter of the water in the glass. Harley frowned up at the man. 

"You ask a lot of questions, dontcha?" He said. His voice was still small, his throat felt scratchy but less than before. The doctor looked surprised for a moment before laughing just a little. Harley looked down at himself. Under the sheets, he couldn't see what his body looked like, but he could feel small aches now. The numbness was wearing off. "What's wrong with me?" Harley asked quietly. 

There was silence. So much time passed with no response from the doctor, Harley thought maybe he was just having a wild dream. His mom said his brain was very imaginative. He turned to the doctor, who was in fact still there. The man was staring at Harley with a really sad face. He'd seen that face before. When his daddy had left, his Mama had looked just like that. 

"What's wrong with me?" Harley repeated, tears suddenly filling his vision. He was scared and he didn't like the way the doctor was looking at him. His Mama had looked sad like that, and she had cried, and she scared him so much. He cried too. He didn't like remembering that night. Harley sniffled as tears fell down his cheeks slowly. " _Where's my Mama?"_ He demanded. 

The Doctor somehow looked even sadder. Harley wanted to scream. The beeps in the room got louder. He just wanted to see his Mama. He just wanted the noise to stop. He wanted to go home. The doctor cleared his throat and looked Harley in the eye, the saddest thing Harley ever saw. "Son… you were in an accident, do you remember?" Harley felt his shoulders hitch as more tears fell, he wiped his face - even though it didn't matter because he couldn't seem to stop crying. He shook his head. He couldn't remember _anything._ He just knew he needed to see his Mama...and his baby sister Ari. 

"Where - Where's my- my Mama?" Harley asked through his soft cries. The doctor reached out and touched his arm. 

"Honey…" Harley didn't like that. He didn't like the way the doctor said it. He sobbed harder than before. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. 

"WHERE'S MY MAMA?!" Harley screamed, yanking his arm away. Pain shot through him so suddenly that he couldn't see anything but white for several seconds. He clamped his eyes shut and curled just a little into himself, and cried harder. He could hear shouting. He could hear the doctor calling out to him. He didn't want to talk to the doctor. He wanted his Mama. He wanted to see her. _WHY WOULDN'T THEY TELL HIM WHERE SHE WAS?_ He could hear himself screaming, "WHERE'S MY MAMA! WHERE'S MY MAMAAAA! WHERE'S MY MA- MAMA! WHERE IS SHE?! I WANT - I WANT MY MAMA - I WANT MY MAMA-" He felt a prick of pain in his arm and flinched. "TELL ME WHERE MY MAMA IS! WHERE'S MY SISTER! ARI! MAMA! ARI!" His voice cut out, no words coming out. His eyes and face and chest burned with the force of the hot tears he could taste falling from his eyes like a waterfall. His body numbed. His brain fogged. He felt so tired. 

He fell asleep.

* * *

  
  


Harley stared down at his blurred hands. Tears fell into his palm in small puddles, getting wider and wider when they joined together. The nice lady was still talking. He didn't know what she was saying - he didn't understand it. He could barely focus these days. His brain felt some gooey mush, and his heart felt like it was beating too slow. The nice lady wasn't new. She'd come to see him every day for a while now. Just after the bandages came off his arms. His skin was paler, even now. 

He'd met her on a quiet day; the doctors had given him his jello and he'd been staring at the wall for who knew how long. He did that a lot - staring at nothing. His mind didn't feel like anything anymore. He didn't feel anything except really sad and really tired - and angry, too. But the nice lady had come on a _quiet_ day. She was at the door, a pretty smile on her old lady mouth as she watched him look at her. She talked at him for a few minutes before leaving. Then she came back again and again after that. 

Harley wasn't in his hospital bed anymore. He was okay now. His bruises were faded, his headache was gone. The doctor had told him that he was gonna leave today. The nice lady had come and walked him out of the hospital room. They'd found two chairs in the hallway and she'd sat him down and began explaining who she was. What she did. 

She was a protector. She protected children. She cared for them. That made sense to Harley, at least. What hadn't made sense was what she said after that. "You're going to live somewhere new, Harley." He'd stopped listening after that. The tears had begun to pour just then. The nice lady didn't seem bothered or worried that he was crying. 

He wanted his Mama. That caused a deep sadness to grow in his chest. Sometimes he couldn't breathe. He could never breathe when he thought about his Mama. _Gone,_ they'd told him. _She went to sleep, but she won't be waking up_ , they'd explained. Dead was what they meant. He didn't have the heart to tell them that he knew what death was. He knew she wasn't 'asleep'. It couldn't be easy to tell a kid that his Mama was...dead… so he didn't want to make them look at him even sadder than they usually did. He wanted his sister. His breath hitched. He hiccuped on a sob. The nice lady wrapped her arm around him and pulled him into a warm embrace. She smelt sickly sweet. She felt too hot. He didn't like her hugs, they weren't like his Mama's. But she was nice so he let her hug him. 

_Asleep,_ they'd said. _Your little sister got hurt and she's asleep. She can't wake up right now. Maybe she won't ever wake up. But she's resting._ That he believed. His sister wasn't dead. She was asleep, and couldn't wake up. It didn't make the sadness get any better. 

"I - I don't wanna...I don't wanna live - I don't wanna live somewhere new," Harley whispered through his hiccups. He sniffled and coughed. He could feel his snot leaking from his nose. "I want...I want my Mama...I want my Mama… I want my-" 

"Shh, it's okay, Darling," The nice lady whispered, petting his messy and uncontrollable curly hair. "Let it all out, baby. It's okay. I know this is hard. God, you're so young. You're so young…." The nice lady squeezed him closer. "We'll take good care of you… Don't have to worry, sweetie. We'll take good care of you…" 

Harley wanted to scream again. He wanted to pull at his hair. The doctors would stop him like before but he could distract himself. He could pull his hair and feel something that was hot and painful. He could _feel something else._ Anything else. His body was cold, his heart was racing, his eyes stung. His lungs burned. His fingers curled, nails digging sharply into his skin. Everyone was gone. He was alone. He couldn't breathe. _He couldn't breathe_ \- 

"I can't breathe….I can't breathe…. I can't breathe…. Mama, I can't breathe…" His chest heaved. He taste barf at the back of his mouth. His stomach churned painfully. " _Mama!"_ He wailed, turning his face into the nice lady's clothes. She smelt even worse, but he couldn't breathe and he didn't care. " _Mamaaa-"_ He coughed, loud and rough. He felt fire in his chest. " _Mama…"_

That wasn't the first panic attack he'd had. It wasn't the last.

* * *

  
  


"Hey kiddo." 

Harley didn't bother looking up from the radio opened before him. He stared at the bare bones of the device, a screwdriver between his lips. His brows were furrowed, long and curly hair falling into his face as he leaned forward. 

"Harley."

He gritted his teeth and plucked the screwdriver from his mouth, pointedly ignoring the man at his door. Jonah wasn't his favorite foster parent, but he wasn't the worst. That didn't mean Harley had to _like_ him. He was everything that was wrong with middle class white america; never had a hungry day, always acted like the universe was going to bend over backwards for you if you 'believed hard enough'. It didn't help that Harley hated Cole, Jonah's actual child. Ugh. If Harley had to listen to Cole bitch about going to school _one more day_ in this hell hole, he was going to skewer that brat's eyes out with a sharp - no, no. Blunt. A blunt object. 

Miss Carnelli was an idiot for thinking Harley would fit in here. The woman had been with him for years, and yet she never could find the 'perfect home' for him. She was sweet; she still smelled kinda gross, but she was a familiar face. Harley, though, had learned the hard truths of the foster system. The older kids had told him - not to be cruel, but to spare him the pain of figuring it out himself. Harley could see now, going through three years of this bullshit, that he would have figured out the system quickly enough. They had spared him the work.

_"Harley_ -" 

He tossed the radio aside and glared at Jonah. "What the _fuck_ do you-" He stopped himself short. The copper haired man wasn't alone. A woman, dressed in a pants suit, was out in the hall. She wasn't paying attention, and was far away enough that she couldn't have heard Harley speak. She was gorgeous. Pristine and well put together. Her bangs were well cut and her fiery red hair was pulled back into a straight ponytail. He recognized her, but only in the way where that means nothing. He couldn't place her name or where he'd seen her. He knew she wasn't the kind of person who showed up at Jonah Quincy's house. He frowned and met Jonah's shit brown eyes. "What do you want?" He snapped, making a conscious decision to lower his voice. 

Jonah scowled, crossing his arms. "Now, lookie here young sir, I've allowed you to stay in my home, eat my food and-" 

Harley rolled his eyes. "God, can we skip the speech?" He dropped his screwdriver and fell back onto the mattress, head turned to Jonah. "I'm privileged enough to breathe the same goddamned air as your prissy white ass, we get it. You're gonna decide you had enough of me pretty freaking soon so maybe we should just avoid acting like either of us give a fuck about the other." 

Jonah shook his head, disapproval evident in his expression. "Never have I heard such crude language. And from a child no less. You are _eight years old,_ young man. Act like it." Harley sighed but said nothing. Jonah could talk all he wanted. Harley had nothing else to say to him. The older man glared at him for a few more useless seconds, before sighing and pinching his nose. "Harley. I know that you've been through a lot, truly I do-" It took considerable effort not to hurl something at the man "- Now isn't the time for this argument. Someone is here, looking for a viable child to adopt. Miss Carnelli sent her here, which I think will make you feel better about this." 

Harley didn't let his curiosity show. Miss Carnelli sent someone to look at him? Aside from the icky feeling he had in his gut that made him feel like a pet being scouted or some shit, he wondered who the woman could be. He _knew_ her, but Miss Carnelli apparently thought she would _like_ Harley. That was... laughable and a little sad. Harley wasn't adoption material. He was angry and depressed and anxious and bitchy and obstinate. He was Difficult™. No one liked Harley. Sometimes Harley thought Miss Carnelli didn't like him that much either. The people he sent her too definitely hated him. The first time, the family hadn't known just how hard it was to raise a child who has frequent panic attacks. They'd sent him back to the orphanage soon enough. There was just some things people don't want to deal with: panic attacks were one of those things. 

He let his eyes drift back to the woman waiting in the hallway. She was tapping away at a blackberry, a calm and focused look to her. She _looked_ smart. That didn't necessarily mean she actually was though. As if sensing him watching her, she looked up and their eyes met. Her eyes were blue - not like his, but light and cool. Harley wasn't one for sentiment, but he always could tell if he would hate someone if he hated their eyes. Miss Carnelli has warm brown eyes that reminded him of brownies. Jonah's reminded him of shits he took. This woman's eyes reminded him of gems. She raised a brow at him, perfectly plucked into a fine arch. He rose one back. Her pale pink lips quirked and she looked down at her phone, tapping away as if the exchange never happened. 

Harley didn't really smile much these days. But he smirked just a bit. She wasn't instantly horrible, and that was a plus in his book. He looked to Jonah once more. "Who is she anyway?" He asked. 

Jonah leaned against the door frame, a self satisfied look in his eyes. Harley wanted to punch him in them. "It's confidential but… that right there is Virginia Potts." 

Harley blinked and sat up, narrowing his eyes. Virginia Potts. Like…. "The CEO of _Stark Industries_ Virginia Potts?" He blurted out without thinking. Why would…. _How_ would… What the actual hell was happening right now? Anxiety filled him, his fingers tapping away at his thighs as thoughts rushed through his brain like a tsunami. His heartbeat quickened, but not enough that he was worried he might start losing the ability to breathe. Jonah didn't notice - the man _never_ noticed even when Harley was in the middle of an attack. Harley glanced down at his bed, brows knitted together. There was no way this was an adoption. Was it one of those Make-A-Wish type deals? Charity? Was Potts doing this for PR? Did they want him to pose for a photo, beaming and happy that he was getting attention from _such kind and wonderful people_ ? If that was the case, did Miss Carnelli forget who he was? How much he hated being put on display? How much he _hated_ people in general?

"- Her husband and her are looking for a child to adopt-" 

Harley blinked. Jonah was still speaking. "What?" 

Jonah stopped and looked at him, exaggerated concern on his face. "Kiddo are you okay? You look like you've seen a _ghost_!" 

Harley didn't have time for this shit. He gritted his teeth. " _What_ did you say? About Potts and her husband?" 

Jonah frowned, whatever concern he'd tricked himself into feeling vanishing. He moved a bit further into Harley's room. "You will address her as _Miss Potts_ \- or hell, even _Mrs_ _Stark_ , and I will not allow you to embarrass me in my own home. She is the CEO of a company that makes billions each day -" 

Harley sighed. "Fine. I get it. She could buy me billions of times and sell me again. What were you saying before you decided to suck Virginia Potts' dick?" 

Jonah opened his mouth, face contorting with disgust and contempt. "Young. _Man_ -" 

"Excuse me."

They both froze. Harley watched Virginia Potts push past Jonah and stand in the middle of his room, a pleasant and professional smile on her face. She crossed her arms behind her back. Closer, he could see dark freckles splattered along the bridge of her nose and under her eyes. That was the most natural part of her as far as he could see. She looked very business-like in everything else. The way she stood was confident; she took up the room without any effort. 

"Gentlemen, I couldn't help but overhear a bit of your conversation," She began. Her voice was level. It was soothing, like Miss Carnelli's. Like she had personal experience corralling insolent children. Jonah spluttered, grasping at some sort of explanation. Harley just narrowed his eyes at her. Potts ignored Jonah's ramblings. "Harley, right?" Her eyes twinkled. Harley nodded. "Miss Carnelli told me a lot about you, Harley. I've been working with her orphanage for a while. I finally got to meet her in person a few days ago, and she quickly had an idea of who I am and who my husband is, and who would be a good fit for us-" 

"Didn't he get kidnapped? Why would he want a _kid_ on top of that shit?" 

Harley snapped his mouth shut. _Shit._ Potts' eyebrows shot up, the blood rushing from her face quickly. Well. That settled it. Harley wasn't getting adopted, or even a photo. Jonah moved forward first, already spouting an apology, "Miss Potts, I am appalled that you had to hear that -" 

Potts held a hand up, effectively shutting the other man up. "It's quite fine. Do you think I could speak to Harley alone?" She threw a look over her shoulder at Jonah, smiling sweetly. Her tone left no room for negotiation. Jonah stuttered out an affirmative and backed away, closing the door behind him. The room fell quiet. Harley wasn't sure if legally Potts was allowed to be alone with him but he wasn't a stickler for rules, and she and her new husband were the right brand of Rich that could get away with most things. (Read: everything). Potts turned to him. "You can call me Pepper." 

Harley frowned. "Why would I do that?" 

Potts shrugged and moved closer to him, standing just in front of his bed. "May I sit?" She asked. 

"Knock yourself out." 

She sat on the edge of his mattress, manicured nails picking at the loose threads of his blanket. It was an ugly purple monstrosity, but Miss Carnelli had bought him it months ago and he liked it. "I want you to call me Pepper because I heard everything you and Mr Quincy said. Including the comment you made about him 'sucking my dick'." She snorted. Harley remained silent. She wasn't looking at him, but at a generic poster on his wall that read **SMILE. LAUGH. LOVE.** "You don't want to call me Miss Potts or Mrs Stark. I'm fine with Pepper. Only Tony and close friends call me that." 

Harley hummed. "Okay. Why are you here?" 

Pepper turned to him and cocked her head to the side, surveying him. "You're very impatient. You also remind me of my husband." She squinted. "Perhaps a little too much." He tilted his head to the side, mirroring the red head. She smiled brightly. "Miss Carnelli told me about what you went through. What you are still dealing with. It sounds horrible." 

_Oh god._ Harley hated talking about his Mama and little sister. He avoided it unless he really couldn't. The only place he ever shared anything about it was his therapy sessions that he went to for a whole year after the accident. He didn't go back after the mandatory sessions were done and over with. 

He went for the easy route. Deflect. 

"Being kidnapped in Afghanistan sounds horrible too. Why does your husband want a kid?" He asked again.

Pepper looked at him with a sadness he could relate to. It made him feel weird inside. "You really do remind me of him." He almost scoffed. Him? The bratty orphan who freaks out every day and doesn't know when to shut up? He reminded _her_ of Tony Stark? Genius Billionaire? She continued, unaware of his internal musings, "It's been a year now since he came back, and it's been…" She released a breath that was so heavy, he felt it weighs on his shoulders. "It's been difficult and everything is not 'fine', but we are building ourselves up and becoming better people for it. Tony...he's been through a lot. It changes something in you to deal with trauma like that." 

She paused and rubbed at her face, tired. "This may seem like I'm some random woman unloading her problems on you but there's a point to this." She dropped her hand. "Miss Carnelli said that a lot of these foster homes aren't properly equipped to handle you. You have anxiety, you have nightmares, you get _angry_. I'm here to tell you that you are just the smaller version of my husband. We've dealt with this and we've overcome it - at least, enough to be able to breathe every now and then. Miss Carnelli thinks that's what you need. And Tony and I need someone to care for other than ourselves." 

Harley felt a flare of anger. "I'm not a _toy_ for you and Stark to use because you're bored of each other. I am my own person and I'd be damned if I become a pet in this or any lifetime." To her credit, Potts only nodded at his outburst.

"I understand that," She said. "It would be unreasonable of me to think you wouldn't be suspicious and guarded. Society chooses not to address it but everyone knows what the foster care system is really like. It's lonely and uncaring, with only a few cases that have happy endings." She lifted a hand then paused as if she didn't know if she was allowed to touch him or not. She decided not to and dropped her hand to the bed. "Listen, Harley, my husband and I don't need you because we're bored. There are plenty of toys in our home, and he is capable of making more. What we need is...a child. Tony and I have thought about this, have argued about this - our therapy sessions have been _wasted_ with the topic." 

She went quiet again. Harley could see the gears turning in her mind, could see her thoughts being put together. She was just as much a mess as anyone else, she was just better at making the finished project look perfect. "Harley, we can't have kids. At least… not anymore. That choice was taken away from us and we don't even want to...risk it, trying to chase after an impossible dream. But we want children and it doesn't matter if the kid has our genes or not, Tony and I would love them until they were sick with it. He has his robots and Jarvis, and he has me, James and Happy but he needs more out of life than friends - artificial or otherwise." 

Harley didn't know any of those names, though his interest was piqued at the mention of robots. "You're serious about this?" He found himself wondering aloud. His voice was disgustingly frail as he added, almost shamefully, "... _You want me?"_

Pepper seemed to throw away whatever reservations she had about touching him and pulled him into a hug, tucking him under her arms and crushing her against her. She buried her face in his hair and he could feel the tension running through her body, as she whispered over and over, " _Yes." She_ was scared. He lifted his arms and wrapped around her. He liked her, he knew that much. Closing his eyes, he let her heat envelope him and inhaled. She smelt like peppermint and vanilla. It was subtle and barely there. He sagged against her, an instinct that felt natural. He normally hated being close to people. He normally hated when they touched him. 

The only person who he let hug him was Miss Carnelli, and he didn't like the way she smelt anyway. It never felt right, but it wasn't the worst. She was someone he trusted and he possibly always would. However, his mother had hugged him like he was her lifeline. She hugged him and held him close, and he could always smell her natural skin and whatever perfume she put on. Sometimes she would be sweaty from work. She'd come home and pull him close. Her arms were strong, her skin wasn't smooth. She was worn and overworked. Her arms felt like home. Her scent calmed his mind. She could have held him for all eternity and he'd never miss a thing. He'd told himself that no one would ever feel _right_ after his Mama. _No one._

But Pepper….

She smelt like peppermint and vanilla.

He tightened his arms around her and breathed. 


End file.
